Surrey Board of Trade Says Pipeline Politics Needs to Stop

Feb 5th, 2018 at 7:31 am

The Surrey Board of Trade reiterated their position in support of the Kinder Morgan Pipeline Twinning project in the face of recent news that the BC government may restrict or delay this project further.

“Despite the BC Government’s decision to further review and consult on the pipeline expansion, the Surrey Board of Trade continues their support of the Kinder Morgan Expansion Project with the development of 15,000 jobs, mostly in the trades,” said Anita Huberman, CEO, Surrey Board of Trade.

“As we understand it, the BC Government, as they had announced last year, were going through a public consultation as it relates to the Environmental Management Act. In fact all projects are under review by this government. In the face of this new dialogue, the Surrey Board of Trade wants pipeline politics to stop and the consultation process to be expedited. Let’s get on with creating jobs and needed infrastructure.”

Pipelines play a crucial role in today’s economy. They foster international trade, generate investment in research and development and create jobs, a fact that is not to be taken lightly in the current economic landscape.

“Access to markets, including building trade infrastructure, is what we want to see government deliver. These infrastructure projects are trade enabling, and they will drive economic growth for decades to come. They will create jobs for Canadian families and generate tax revenues for governments confronting massive deficits.

Pipelines matter because they are crucial to the competitiveness of the energy industry, a sector that supports the livelihood of so many Canadians.

“Further, the Surrey Board of Trade believes the reviews that have already taken place which include a focus on environmental protections such as the 157 binding conditions by the National Energy Board as well as the investments in the Ocean Protection Plan, serve to address environmental and other concerns related to the project. Moving crude oil by rail through suburbs has proved to be far more hazardous than using state-of-the art technology in pipelines.”

The Surrey Board of Trade has extensively reviewed Kinder Morgan’s commitment to ensure that the proposed twinned pipeline will meet and exceed the most stringent conditions to get product to market in the safest possible way.